UT Vols lag behind SEC rivals in recruiting

Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt walks on the field during the Tennessee Volunteers Orange & White spring game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, April 21, 2018.

You knew Tennessee would be playing catch-up in recruiting when it hired a new football coach. But three months after the final signing date for the 2018 class, the Vols are still playing catch-up.

That’s not totally surprising.

Recruiting starts earlier and earlier these days. And no one appreciates that more than SEC football coaches, some of whom already had commitments for 2019 before prospects knew who UT’s successor to Butch Jones would be.

So it’s not unexpected that Tennessee would rank 36th nationally this early in the recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports composite team rankings for 2019. New UT coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff are just getting started.

And based on Pruitt’s track record as a recruiter, you should expect Tennessee’s ranking to rise significantly in the upcoming months, just as it did in 2018. Despite the coaching change, the Vols finished 20th nationally.

Alabama’s 12 commitments are composed of 11 four-star recruits and one five-star. Georgia has three five-star recruits and five four-stars. The Bulldogs also have commitments from the top two ranked wide receivers.

In other words, coach Kirby Smart’s third recruiting class is falling right in line with his second class, which ranked No. 1.

While Georgia’s and Alabama’s early recruiting success for 2019 is predictable, it’s also noteworthy what some of the league’s new coaches are doing, especially Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M.

With 12 commitments already, the Aggies rank third. New Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead, a former offensive coordinator at Penn State, also is off to a good start. He has nine commitments, worth a No. 14 ranking. And first-year Florida coach Dan Mullen’s 2019 class is at No. 18.

Something else worth noting about the 2019 recruiting in the SEC: Conference teams are doing well at quarterback.

Five other SEC schools have commitments from quarterbacks ranked 11th or higher at their position, as either a dual-threat or pro-style quarterback. That doesn’t include Georgia, which has sophomore-to-be Jake Fromm returning, as well as freshman Justin Fields, a five-star signee. With Fromm and Fields already on board, the Bulldogs don’t have a pressing need to sign another heralded quarterback in the 2019 class.

Returning starter Jarrett Guarantano and backup Will McBride have experience. Stanford transfer Keller Chryst, who will compete for the starting job in preseason camp, has only one year of eligibility remaining. Three-star signee JT Shrout, an acclaimed drop-back passer, also will join the competition in August.

With no star quarterback on hand, it might be easier to sign a highly rated quarterback for 2019. But for now, the Vols also are playing catch-up to the rest of the SEC in recruiting quarterbacks.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.